·Gentleness – modern translations update this
for us into our language of KINDNESS.

I.KINDNESS AND GENTLENESS SPEAKS TO OUR MODERATIONTOWARDS
OTHERS

a.Philippians 4:5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The
Lord is at hand.

b.It is good to be passionate about many
things, but there is a need for moderation and balance.

c.We do not need to be extreme in
issues that do not warrant it.

d.Especially to those who are outside
of the faith.

i.EX: This is often how people develop caricatures about others.

e.Don’t make mountains out of
molehills.

f.Rom 14 teaches about kindness and moderation. It deals with helping
those who are young and weak in the faith – esp. in issues of the celebrating
certain days and eating certain food.

g.Moderation also reminds us that there is such a thing as too much of a
good thing.

i.EX: Churches/Christians who get off track following certain
issues – politics, church history…etc.

ii.EX: Believers who cause trouble and division in a church
because decisions that are made that go against their personal preferences.

h.Why? Because the
Lord is at hand – His return is near.

i.God will not ask whether we had all
our desires and preferences filled – but how many we tried to reach, and what we did
to make it happen.

II.KINDNESS AND GENTLENESS SPEAKS TO OUR MEEKNESSTOWARDS
OTHERS

a.Titus 3:2 To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but
gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.

i.Here,
Paul is writing a letter to Titus, who was setting up the leadership of the
church in Crete. After laying down some qualifications for leaders, he now exhorts
him to speak to all the believers on how
to live and interact with the world around them.

ii.In
3:2, Titus is to remind them to be gentle, and
doing so by exercising meekness to all those they come in contact with.

iii.Meekness
is having your power in
control and deferring it.

iv.Meekness
is the inner attitudethat is shown in our outward gentleness and kindness
to others.

v.Meekness
is having your emotions and actions under control.

vi.When others do you wrong – how do you
react?

vii.Meekness
is deferring your wants and preferences for the growth of others.

b.Jesus as our example of meekness – Matthew 11:28–29 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke
upon you, and learn
of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye
shall find rest unto your souls.

III.KINDNESS AND GENTLENESS SPEAKS TO OUR MISSIONTOWARDS
OTHERS

a.1 Thessalonians 2:7–8 But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse
cherisheth her children: 8 So being affectionately desirous of you, we
were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also
our own souls, because ye were dear unto us.

c.We see that aspect of gentleness and
kindness here in Paul’s first letter to the church of the Thessalonians. The
Apostle is reminding them of how he and Timothy did everything within their
power to not be a burden to them and not make themselves to be the focus (2:5-6).

d.Instead, they were gentle and kind
with these believers because they were young in the faith and their mission was to build up their faith and
their church, not to be a burden and tear it down.

e.One of our missions today is to be a builder of people’s faith – not a
tearer-downer of their faith.

f.If our mission is to help people,
then we must:

i.Sacrifice for them (vs. 8-9)
– give time, effort, and money to areas of ministry that may not benefit us…may
not be our personal preference…but will help us reach the lost and disciple
new believers.

ii.We
must be kind and gentle in all aspects, treating new believers and members with
respect and love and breaking
down the “cliques” that develop in a church.

iii.There
is nothing worse than “fake friendliness.”

CLOSE:

·This is the kind of kindness we need
today in our churches:

oModeration– not making mountains
out of molehills. Putting personal preferences aside to reach others.

oMeekness– are you willing to
defer in non-essential areas to the weaker for their growth and benefit?

oMission– are you willing to
sacrifice your time, money, and efforts for those who growing in their faith?
Are you willing to be a true friend and break down the wall that you have
developed around the circle of your friends?